Turkey’s top appeals court upholds jail term for prominent opposition figure

Canan Kaftancioglu, head of the CHP’s Istanbul branch, sentenced to nearly five years and barred from politics for insulting Erdogan and the Turkish government.
Kaftancioglu
Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul chairperson Canan Kaftancioglu greets her supporters as she arrives at the party headquarters on May 12, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey's top court upheld convictions and a jail term against her for insulting the president and the state. Kaftancioglu heads the main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) Istanbul branch and played a significant role in municipal elections in the city that saw the CHP take over the mayoralty, which had been held by President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party for the last 25 years. - Burak Kara/Getty Image
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

Turkey's top appeals court today upheld a jail sentence of more than four years against prominent opposition official Canan Kaftancioglu on charges of insulting the president and the Turkish government. The ruling, which also barred her from politics, has raised further concerns over Turkey’s judicial independence in the leadup to the 2023 elections

Speaking after the ruling, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu struck a defiant tone in a speech directly addressing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

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